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Big plays, turnovers clip Hawks in Plano rout
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
MURPHY -- Plano Senior entered Friday’s game against Hebron targeting a low-scoring, defensive slugfest.
Generally, the narrative for a game like that doesn’t include the winning team posting its most lopsided win of the season, but then again, teams have had trouble finding the end zone against the Wildcats this season.
In Hebron’s case, it meant being stonewalled from the end zone for four quarters for the team’s lowest scoring output since 2006 in a 33-6 rout courtesy of the Wildcats.
As is customary in a low-scoring affair, sometimes it takes opportunistic defense to create a little offense.
In Plano’s case, it meant senior Matt Johnson cutting off an out rout to intercept Hebron quarterback Kyle Aubuchon with 5:36 left in the second quarter in what looked to be the shot in the arm the previously-stagnant Wildcats needed.
“[Johnson’s interception] was awesome,” McCullough said. “The thing is we’ve been getting takeaways all year and I think that’s something that will continue because we’re healthy and we have depth.”
The takeaway marked one of three for the Wildcats, as interceptions were also recorded by seniors Blair Burns and Brad Tipton.
Operating from midfield following Johnson’s pick, it was a third-down rush by senior Murat Kuzu that broke free for 44 yards, zig-zagging his way past the Hebron defense down to the 1-yard line before senior Connor Michelsen snuck into the end zone for Plano’s first score of the contest, taking the lead at 7-3.
Michelsen managed 147 yards through the air on 12-for-20 passing, while Kuzu added 190 total yards of offense and a touchdown.
Prior to the scoring drive, the Wildcats had amassed just 14 yards of offense and zero first downs.
“[Plano] did a great job,” said Brian Brazil, Hebron head coach. “They have a great defensive football team and they always have … We played real well early on, but it was that interception in the second quarter that gave them a big spark.”
After a 22-yard field goal by senior Chris Moore gave Plano a 10-3 lead -- a score countered by Hebron kicker Kurt Walker with a 40-yard make to end the half at 10-6 -- the Wildcats got their second shot in the arm to open the second half.
Fumbling the initial kickoff, Burns scooped the ball up and bolted downfield 96 yards for a touchdown and a 17-6 Plano edge.
“You just can’t have that,” Brazil said. “It takes the wind out of your sails, but we had some chances after that, but just kind of fizzled out … They just out-played us tonight.”
As the Wildcats offense got stronger when the game ventured deep into the second half, the Hawks’ offense seemed to move backwards after a promising start.
Aubuchon’s all-purpose attack was stifled to the wayside as the signal caller was forced into 43 passes, completing less than 40 percent of said passes.
Breaking off the Hawks’ biggest play of the game on its second drive of the contest, rusher Dezmond Wortham bolted left for a 44-yard gain to put Hebron just outside the red zone. The momentum garnered from the big rush would be short-lived though, as Wortham’s night would end with 45 yards rushing on 13 carries.
An offense that entered Friday averaging 43.5 points per game, Hebron’s only points came off the foot of Walker, who knocked home a 22-yard field goal to cap the aforementioned drive for an early 3-0 lead in addition to his field goal to close out the first half.
Things were a bit easier for the Wildcats, who overcame one-and-a-half quarters of offensive football that may as well have been played in quicksand.
Such was evident following a Burns interception early in the fourth quarter. Shortly afterwards, it was Kuzu bolting down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 24-6.
Things went from bad to worse for the Hawks, backed to their own 16-yard line on fourth-and-long and the result being a snap that sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a Plano safety.
The Wildcats made good on the bonus possession, marching 46 yards downfield on six plays before a 1-yard double reverse slithered junior Kevin Merrill into the end zone for a 33-6 decision.
“We needed this win tonight,” McCullough said. “The chance of 0-2 is a big hole to climb out of, but I just wanted to see what we could do against a very good Hebron team and you have to give the players and coaches credit.”
With both teams now knotted at 1-1 in a district that now holds only one unbeaten squad in Allen, Plano aims to make good on its momentum in a road matchup against Flower Mound at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Hawks will host Lewisville at the same time.
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